Unit Matchups

Choose two to four units to see their figures side by side, how long each takes to destroy each of the others, and how each pair fares one on one and for the same mana. The figures come from the game's own unit files. The choice is kept in the page's address, so a link such as Swordsman and Warrior opens that comparison directly.

What Is Certain and What Is Not

Kingdoms works out weapon damage differently from Total Annihilation. A weapon's damage table lists damage categories, such as fortification or monarch, rather than units, and each unit belongs to one category. When the target's category is not in the table, the weapon does its usual damage. That much is certain, and most matchups between fighting units fall under it.

When the target's category is listed, the value beside it is often a fraction such as 0.5, which suggests that it multiplies the usual damage. This has not been confirmed in the game's code, so any figure that depends on it carries a † mark. A listed value of 0 means no damage on either reading.

Some weapons are left out of the times, and figures that leave one out carry a * mark. Beams and flames, such as lightning and fire breath, are left out because how often they deal damage is not confirmed. Area spells such as earthquakes and storms are left out, and so are weapons that spend mana, since how often they fire depends on the unit's mana. Weapons that only stun do no damage and are not counted.

What the Times Assume

Every counted weapon hits, starting at the same moment, with both units already in range. A direct hit does the weapon's full damage; the blast's damage to other units nearby is left out.
Against flying units, only ranged weapons count, and not those marked as unable to hit them.
In the game, reloads and damage vary at random by an amount that has not been measured, and fighters in melee can lose time between swings. The times use the listed figures, so for melee they are the quickest a fighter manages.
A unit that switches between its weapons, rather than using all of them at once, is counted with whichever one kills fastest.
Units in Kingdoms heal slowly on their own. The times leave that out, which matters most in long fights.

Mana for Mana

Two units can trade very differently one on one and in groups. A cheap unit can lose every duel yet win when the same mana buys three of it. To fill the cost column, the guide uses Lanchester's square law, a long-standing model of battles in which every unit can fight at once. Each side's strength is its kill rate (how many of the other kind one unit destroys a minute against a steady line of them) times its numbers squared, and with the same mana spent on each side, the stronger group wins.

The figure beside the winner is how many times its own mana of the other a group of it can beat. A figure of 1.5 means that a group of the winner can beat one and a half times its own mana of the other unit. The model is not the game's code. It ignores range, speed and terrain, and melee fighters cannot all reach the enemy at once, so read it as a measure of value for money rather than a forecast.

Compare Units

Comparing Swordsman, Warrior

Side by Side

Figure	Swordsman	Warrior
Side	Aramon	Veruna
Mana	285	265
Build time	99	85
Hit points	2,500	2,617
Top speed	1.1	1.3
Sight	135	135
Damage category	Human	Human
Weapons	Sword: 360 damage every 1.7 s, range 30, 211.8 a second	Sword: 380 damage every 1.8 s, range 30, 211.1 a second

Time to Kill

Each row's unit attacks each column's unit alone. The time runs from its first hit to the one that destroys the target; below it is the number of hits that takes.

Attacker ↓ Target →	Swordsman	Warrior
Swordsman	10.2 s7 hits	11.9 s8 hits
Warrior	10.8 s7 hits	10.8 s7 hits

Head to Head

One on one, both units start unhurt and in range, and attack together. The mana column names the unit that does better for the same spend, and how many times its own cost of the other a group of it can beat.

Pair	One on One	Mana for Mana
Swordsman and Warrior	Warrior wins in 10.8 s with 97 hit points leftBoth reach 30	Warrior ×1.12

Each House's Cheapest Fighter

The cheapest land unit of each house whose damage the guide can work out, against one another. Select a figure to open that pair in the tool.

Time to Kill

Attacker ↓ Target →	Swordsman	Warrior	Zombie	Goblin	Automaton
Swordsman	10.2 s7 hits	11.9 s8 hits	5.1 s4 hits	5.1 s4 hits	13.6 s9 hits
Warrior	10.8 s7 hits	10.8 s7 hits	3.6 s3 hits	5.4 s4 hits	12.6 s8 hits
Zombie	11.4 s8 hits	11.4 s8 hits	4.9 s4 hits	4.9 s4 hits	13.1 s9 hits
Goblin	14.7 s14 hits	15.9 s15 hits	6.8 s7 hits	6.8 s7 hits	18.1 s17 hits
Automaton	11.4 s7 hits	11.4 s7 hits	3.8 s3 hits	3.8 s3 hits	13.3 s8 hits

Attacker ↓ Target →

10.2 s7 hits

11.9 s8 hits

5.1 s4 hits

13.6 s9 hits

Warrior

10.8 s7 hits

3.6 s3 hits

5.4 s4 hits

12.6 s8 hits

Zombie

11.4 s8 hits

4.9 s4 hits

13.1 s9 hits

Goblin

14.7 s14 hits

15.9 s15 hits

6.8 s7 hits

18.1 s17 hits

Automaton

11.4 s7 hits

3.8 s3 hits

13.3 s8 hits

Mana for Mana

Each row's unit against each column's unit, for the same mana. Above 1, the row's unit does better: a group of them can beat up to that many times its own mana of the other. Below 1, the column's unit does better.